Race for U.S. Senate seat heats up

With just five weeks before the August 14th primary all four Republican candidates for U.S. Senate are hitting the campaign trail with full force.

"I think it's very important to see the folks face to face," U.S. Senate candidate Mark Neumann said.

"It's the economic issue that caused me to get into this race," Businessman Eric Hovde said.

Hovde and Neumann both made separate stops in Wausau Thursday. Hovde told supporters he's running for Senate to protect the American dream. He says he and Tommy Thompson have separated themselves from the other republicans.

"This is a two man race," Hovde said.

But Neumann, who met with reporters at The Wausau Airport says he disagrees.

"We've been outspent $4 million to zero," Neumann said. "But, I'm confident we're a competitor and that will change the numbers dramatically."

Neumann says his top priority is repealing President Obama's Affordable Health Care Law.

"It is the large number of tax increases that are in it because they are detrimental to the future of this country," Neumann said.

Former governor Tommy Thompson was also traveling the state. Thompson hold a double digit lead in the Marquette Law School poll released this week. Thompson says his message is, "restoring America."

In a statement, Thompson's campaign office says he hold the lead, "despite misleading attacks by his opponents, suspect polls peddled by Eric Hovde and the Democrats, and being dramatically outspent by Hovde."

But, Jeff Fitzgerald says those polls are not completely accurate.

"It's hard to get people to care about this election, they are sick of politics," Fitzgerald said.

But, even though the Marquette Poll shows six percent support, Fitzgerald said he's confident. The former Assembly Speaker says creating jobs in the most important issue.

"I have based my political career on being fiscally responsible and that's what we need in Washington," Fitzgerald said.

The winner of next month's primary moves on to face democrat Tammy Baldwin in the November general election.

Baldwin's campaign also released a statement today, saying, "no matter which candidate makes it through the primary the choice is going to be clear because Tammy is the only candidate with a strong record of working across party lines to protect Wisconsin jobs, invest in small businesses and rebuild our manufacturing economy."